Production of genetically modified chickens to prevent an influenza pandemic

LONDON (Reuters) – British scientists are developing genetically engineered chickens designed to fully withstand the flu with a new approach to preventing a deadly pandemic in humans.

The first generation of modified chickens is expected to hatch later this year at the Roslyn Institute of Edinburgh University in Scotland, said Wendy Barclay, professor of virology at Imperial College's London and co-chair of the project.

The DNA has been modified for birds with the help of a new gene modification technique called Cresper. In this case, the "adjustments" are made to remove some of the protein that the flu virus usually depends on, making the chicken completely resistant to the flu. Barkley said the idea was to produce poultry that could not catch the flu and was "a barrier between wild birds and humans". Global experts in health and infectious diseases consider the risk of a human influenza pandemic as one of their main concerns.

The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 killed about 50 million people. The biggest fear right now is that a deadly strain of bird flu is being passed from humans through wild birds to an airborne epidemic that can easily be passed between humans.

"If we can prevent the flu virus from passing wild birds to chickens, we will stop the outbreak that is the source," said Barkley.

Poultry producers' concerns about public acceptance have been a major impediment to this approach.

"People are eating foods from farm animals that have been modified during decades of traditional hybridization," she said. "But they could be worried about the consumption of genetically modified foods".